


Optimists

by FlirtyFroggy



Series: US Open 2013 drabbles [2]
Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Gen, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-15
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-26 16:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/968280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlirtyFroggy/pseuds/FlirtyFroggy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stan and Richard prepare for their semi-finals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Optimists

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and is not meant to imply anything about any actual people or their lives. It's just for fun.

Stan closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and tried to focus on the quiet voice inside him that told him he could do this. He’d run him close before and could do it again, take that extra step this time. The voice that told him this was not the Novak Djokovic of 2011, that there were chinks in the armour. He tried to ignore the other voice, the one that told him that chinks in the armour were all very well, but you needed to find them first. Find his before he found yours and ran you through.

Across the locker-room, Richard hummed to himself as he got dressed. He knew most people thought he was toast. In his heart of hearts, he thought it too. But no tennis player ever got anywhere paying attention to what they knew in their heart of hearts. Sure, Rafa was playing like magic. But so was Richie. He could feel it, every time he played. His feet skipped easily over the court, every ball found its mark. Expectation felt like a friend, not a burden. Rafa couldn’t keep winning indefinitely; eventually, he had to lose. Maybe tomorrow would be the day.

“You know,” Stan said, opening his eyes. “People are already talking about the final being a replay of our Roland Garros match”. Richard raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“What people? Crazy people?”

Stan laughed, then thought for a second. “Optimistic people,” he said with a smile.

It was unlikely, they both knew. The chances of them both beating the odds were slim. But Stan was on fire and so was Richie. They could do it: burn through the world number one and number two, straight into the final. Come Monday, one of them could be a Grand Slam Champion.

Why not?


End file.
